There are at least two great reasons to carry your golf clubs along on your next trip. Either you’re going to a location that happens to also have a great golf course, or, better yet, you’re traveling specifically to do nothing else but play golf for a few days. Regardless of which situation you’re in, you need to plan for traveling with your golf clubs. In most cases, that means coming up with a good golf travel bag.
Golf travel bags vary a great deal, from basic models that are not much more than glorified duffle bags to expensive, complex golf travel systems that protect your clubs from any conceivable mishap. So how do you choose the best golf travel bag for your next journey?
First of all, you want to find a solution that large enough to handle your gear, but small enough to keep your travel easy. You never know how much help you can count on at your destination, so you want to get something you can handle yourself. This includes straps and handles to hold the bag, wheels to roll it along, and the overall weight once you get your clubs and other golf gear inside. If you throw your back out manhandling your bag through the airport, you won’t get to play much golf, will you?
You might be surprised to know that many golf pros opt for a soft-side bag. There’s nothing at all wrong with soft-side golf travel bags as long as they have enough internal padding to protect your equipment. Make sure you get wheels, extra pockets and lots of heavy-duty zippers.
Hard-side golf travel bags provide extra protection when traveling long distances. You might want to consider this option if you are taking your clubs to international destinations, or you travel to locations that involve lots of transfers and plane changes.
Hybrid bags are an excellent choice because it combines the travel bag with the golf course bag. In other words, you can go straight from baggage claim to the course without having to unpack.